


No Need To Be Brave

by TikolaNesla



Category: Ackley Bridge (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Childhood Friends, Drug Addiction, F/F, simone makes poor decisions, the nissy is kinda onesided? who's to say
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-08 12:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19107124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TikolaNesla/pseuds/TikolaNesla
Summary: Missy and Nasreen go far, far, back, longer than either can remember.





	1. Six

**Author's Note:**

> Thought I'd expand and write something other than bad animes for once. This is also way shorter than I usually make things. Either I'm being extra experimental or I'm being tentative. You choose.

Missy was the coolest, most prettiest person Nasreen had ever met. Her hair was shiny and yellow and she always smiled. She liked horses and she was in the school choir. The two of them did everything together. They lived side by side and went to the same school. Wherever Missy went, Nasreen would follow. If she asked her mum for blackcurrant squash (and she always did: she liked the colour), so would Nasreen. If Missy drew a cat in art, so would Nasreen, even if she wanted to draw penguins instead.

When Nasreen’s mummy was busy (or her daddy, but that was all the time), she would go right next door. Missy’s mummy was always nice to her. She was fun and cool, and she always said to call her Simone -  _ never  _ Mrs Booth. She wasn’t so sure about her daddy. He was scary.

Still, when Kaneez was whisked away to hospital, Nasreen stayed over at Missy’s house. She sat with her legs crossed on her bedroom floor as she painted her nails, P!nk playing at full volume on her pink CD player. Missy said she liked the pink nail varnish, not to mention that it matched the music, so Nasreen, as always, followed suit. She and Razia both watched her intently, watched her hold Nasreen’s hand gently and apply it perfectly, a beautiful sheen of deep sparkling blue on every nail. She didn’t get how she always did it so perfectly. She was so cool and talented.

“You can let go of my hand now, Nazzie.”

Nasreen wasn’t sure she wanted to, but she did, holding her hand flat to stop herself smudging it.

“You get it now, Razia?”

Razia squinted at her sister’s hand. “I think so. Hayley, gimme.”

Hayley offered Razia her hand and the blue nail varnish with Cinderella on the bottle. Sticking out her tongue for maximum focus, she brushed it gently along Hayley’s finger. 

“Razia!”

“I didn’t mean to!”

Hayley wiped her hand on Razia’s sleeve. “I’ll paint my own then.”

“Fiiiine. Can you still do mine?”

“Get Missy to!”

“Why’ve I got to! I only wanna paint Nazzie’s nails!”

Nasreen couldn’t help but grin at that.

Razia pouted. “I’m telling Simone.”

Nasreen scowled at her. “Don’t be a  _ baby _ , Razia!”

“I wanna have purple nails!”

As if on cue, Missy’s mother put her head around the door. “Girls-”

“Missy won’t paint my nails!”

_ “Girls,” _ she insisted, “The hospital said you’re allowed to come up and see mummy now.”

Nasreen and Razia shot up. “She had the baby?”

“Yeah! A little boy!”

Nasreen groaned. “Aww.”

“Come on, get your shoes on, I’ll drive you up.”

“Can Missy come?”

“No, you’ll stress ‘em out. Just the two of ya.”

Missy collapsed dramatically against Nasreen, holding on tight to her leg. “ _ Please _ , mummy? I wanna see the baby!”

“You’ll see him tomorrow!”

“But mummyyyyyy! Don’t leave us!”

Simone prised her daughter off of Nasreen’s leg. “Daddy’s downstairs. We’ll be back, won’t we, Nasreen?”

Missy slumped against her bed as Simone ushered Nasreen and Razia out of her room. “Stupid.”

-

Kaneez looked up as Razia and Nasreen rushed up to hug her.

“Ah, be careful! I just bloody gave birth!”

Simone followed after them, sitting in the chair by her bed as the two girls, much to Kaneez’s disgruntlement, arranged themselves in her bed.

“You alright, love?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Kaneez snorted, “Only pushed a bloody baby out of me. This bloody thing nearly split me in half, I tell ya.”

Simone grinned as she reached out for the little boy’s hand. He only stared back, as if he was still trying to figure out what a person was. 

“What’s his name?”

“Saleem.”

Nasreen kissed his nose. “Baby Saleem! Hello, baby Saleem!”

“Hey! Don’t go kissing him! He don’t know where you’ve been!”

“Missy’s house,” she replied.

Kaneez rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know that. Just… be careful.”

“He looks like a chicken nugget,” Razia observed, poking his cheeks. 

Nasreen elbowed her. “No he don’t!”

“Simone, don’t he look like a chicken nugget?”

Simone laughed. “I think he looks like his daddy.”

Kaneez made a face. “Hope that’s where bloody resemblance stops.”

“Where  _ is  _ Iqbal?”

Kaneez didn’t meet Simone’s eye. She suddenly looked very tired. “How’m I meant to know that?”


	2. Seven

Nasreen sat on the floor with Saleem. She was entirely unsure of what he was trying to say, but he was babbling on like he did. Simone said you were meant to listen and try to talk back when they did that. She wasn’t sure of her reasoning, but she did it. He was getting bigger every day, she had said. Bigger and smarter. When Nasreen pointed out that that was how all people worked, she just laughed.

Through the wall, she heard a sudden thump, so loud it made Kaneez drop the kettle she was filling into the sink. She heard shouted words, words she wasn’t supposed to say no matter what. More thumps, repetitive ones, again and again and again against the wall. Something shattered. 

And then there was silence. Kaneez glanced over her shoulder at the two of them. “Nasreen, go do your homework.”

“But muuuu-“

_ “Now.” _

Nasreen started to trudge upstairs when she heard the door open. She lingered for a moment out of curiosity.

“Simone-“

“I know. I know. Just…”

She heard her mother open a box. “Bloody hell. I ought to give that man a good smack.”

“Don’t get involved, Kaneez.”

“It’s your house, nah? Throw him out already. What good’s he ever done anyway?”

“You don’t get it. He’s not like Iqbal-“

“No, because Iqbal has the common bloody sense to piss off once in a while.”

“Kaneez-“

“Am I wrong?”

Simone didn’t reply.

“You deserve better.”

“I love him, Kaneez.”

“That don’t make it right. How are you even saying that? Look, you’re already forming yourself a black eye.”

“Thought you was meant to know first aid.”

Kaneez scoffed. “I’m a dinner lady, not bloody magician. It should heal up eventually. Come on, I’ll make tea.”

As the kettle boiled, Nasreen got herself comfortable, sitting on the stairs and squishing her face between two banister railings.

“I’m gonna call the police on him.”

“Kaneez, no-“

“I’m not letting him get away with it!”

“It won’t happen again.”

“It weren’t gonna happen again last time. And the time before.”

“Least he puts food on the table.”

“You ain’t got a table anymore. He smashed you through it.”

“You know what I mean.”

Nasreen heard her mother sigh. That long, gentle sigh when Nasreen got detention for fighting a Year 3 who called Missy names. Frustration, sure, but empathy too.

“I can’t let him keep doing this to you!”

“He doesn’t  _ keep _ doing it. It was a one time thing.”

“That happened how many times now? Ten?”

“Nine,” she corrected, “And he  _ apologised.” _

“And he’ll do it again.”

“You don’t know him like I do, Kaneez.”

“I know enough.”

“But I can’t just chuck him out. Where’d I be then?”

“Better off.”

It was Simone's turn to scoff. “Oh, yeah. Unemployed with two girls and no husband to help out.”

“Oh, ‘cause he helps out, does he?”

“He makes money.”

“And so could you!”

“I’ve gotta look after the girls. Anyway, who’d hire  _ me?  _ I’m useless.”

There was poison in Kaneez’s voice. “He tell you that, did he?”

Simone hesitated for a long while. When she spoke, her voice had the same venom, but it wasn’t there for Mr Booth. “Just don’t interfere, alright? I can handle myself.”

“Simone-“

Simone wasn’t done. “What about the girls? I mean, what d’you think it does to yours not seeing Iqbal?”

“For fuck’s sake-“ Nasreen covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. If she had said that, she’d have got detention for a hundred years.

“What? Do they  _ like  _ never seeing him? Tell me how great it is, that Saleem doesn’t know his dad’s face.”

“He’s one, he don’t know a face from a backside.”

“You’re deflecting, Kaneez.”

“Because you’re talking rubbish.”

“Am I?” Nasreen heard her get out of your chair and Kaneez follow suit. “Is it really so great, being the only parent in their corner on Sports Day?”

“Oh, ‘cause you’re not?”

“I’m doing what’s best for my girls. I’m staying home, I’m looking after them, I’m not letting my Missy grow up with more responsibility than she should.” Simone paused, maybe to try and stop herself, maybe not. “If only  _ you  _ got that.”

Silence fell over the room. Nasreen couldn’t see them, but she felt even then that if she went in, she’d be in trouble. She scooted up the stairs on her bum, careful not to make a sound. 

When Kaneez spoke, her voice was soft, but the ice in her words bit through the warmth of her kitchen. 

“Get out.”

She didn’t stick around to eavesdrop any longer, but rushed to her room and did her homework, puzzling over addition instead of mummy and Simone and the noises next door. It was so much simpler than all that. Anyway, she was good at Maths. Missy always said so. She said Nasreen was good at everything. She knew she only said it so that she would do her homework for her, but it worked. She double checked every answer so Missy wouldn’t get found out. 

When she finished and came downstairs, Saleem was eating his foot and Kaneez had started on dinner, cutting up vegetables. She looked sad.

“Mummy, can I help with cooking?”

Kaneez smiled. “No, no, I’ve got it covered.”

“Are you okay?” She couldn’t tell her she’d been eavesdropping, of course not, but anyone could see it anyway.

“I’m fine.”

Nasreen furrowed her eyebrows. “You’re sad.”

Kaneez chuckled and put down the knife to pick her daughter up. “You know something, Nasreen?”

She thought about it, then shook her head. 

Kaneez smiled and held her close. “It’s easy to be mean to people you love. Because you know they’ll love you even if you do.”

“But you shouldn’t be mean to people!” Nasreen protested. 

“No. You shouldn’t.”


End file.
